Supergirl (2026) Review

Kara Zor-El/Supergirl gets her first solo film since 1984 and leads in the second movie of the rebooted DCU. The new film sees the Girl of Steel on an intergalactic mission of vengeance.

Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock) has never settled after being sent from Argo City to Earth. She spends a lot of time travelling to planets with red suns so she can get drunk. On her 23^rd birthday, she travels to a planet just as a Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts) murders a family, except a 13-year-old girl, Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley). Kara and Ruthye’s paths cross when Krem steals Kara’s spaceship and shoots Krypto with a poison dart, and Ruthye wants revenge against the Brigand. Kara only has three days to find Krem, and Ruthye tags along so she can get revenge against the space pirate.

The DCU has generally been seen as a success so far. Superman, Creature Commandos, and the second season of Peacemaker have been well-received. Supergirl has seemingly broken that string because the reception has been more mixed on Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB, and Letterboxd, and opening the box office projections have been on par with The Marvels and The Flash. It has also been a target of YouTube grifters who used their usual tactics of a months-long hate campaign and attacking the lead actress.

Supergirl was loosely based on Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow has been considered one of the best Supergirl stories, with the film following some of the basic story points where Supergirl and Ruthye travel across space so Supergirl can get an antidote for Krypton, trying to preserve Ruthye’s soul. The film version was a condensed version of the story, having a brisk 108 minutes, and making some major changes.

The 2026 film served as a pseudo-origin story for Supergirl. Kara hasn’t fully taken up the Supergirl mantle, has not worn her costume, and doesn’t see Earth as her home. She had a different outlook on the world compared to her cousin: she was a cynical realist who had seen too much tragedy. Supergirl was rougher and harder than the clean-cut Superman. Kara’s party girl image was played as a joke at the end of Superman, but she really used alcohol and partying as a coping mechanism. Her character journey was overcoming her cynicism to become a traditional superhero. The heart of the film was the relationship between Kara and Ruthye as the Kryptonian had to protect the well-spoken teen with hatred in her heart.

Alcock did excel as the more bitter, jaded version of Supergirl, who had an I-don’t-care attitude. She was more willing to take actions that Superman would consider beyond the pale. But despite her drunkenness and cynicism, Kara was still willing to do the right thing, as shown when she saw Ruthye for the first time. Kara was still a hero, despite what she says. Even if Supergirl is a flop, the DCU should keep Alcock because she looked and acted the part.

Supergirl’s marketing has made out that the film was going to be a fairly light, Guardians of the Galaxy-style adventure. There was some of this, especially in the first act, where there was pop music and drunken antics. Supergirl even flipped the bird at some space pirates, which felt like something Star-Lord would have done. However, the film was more serious in tone. Kara’s backstory was treated with weight, and the film was played mostly straight. When humour was introduced, it mostly fell flat. As an action film, Supergirl was lacklustre. Nothing stood out among the fights and chases, which was a letdown considering the spectacular action in Superman.

One of the big changes in the film made from the source materials was Krem’s motivation. In the graphic novel, Krem was a nihilist who enjoyed death and carnage across the galaxy. In the film, Krem was a space pirate who was a sex trafficker. This change was done to increase Supergirl’s feminist credentials, almost as if the filmmakers were influenced by Mad Max: Fury Road. However, it did make the film a bit icky, especially for a film with a PG-13/12A rating, and one of the potential victims being 13. In films like 28 Days Later and Mad Max: Fury Road, this plot point was more tolerable because they were made for adults. Krem was a bland villain: he was evil for the sake of being evil, and audiences were meant to boo and hiss at him because of his crimes.

Jason Momoa has come to the world of DC, this time as a fan favourite, Lobo. Lobo was arguably a better fit for Momoa since the character was a bounty hunter, space biker antihero. Momoa was fine as the character, but he was basically a Deus Ex Machina. He didn’t add anything to the story. There was so much potential because Woman of Tomorrow was inspired by True Grit, and Lobo could have filled the LaBeouf role.

Supergirl was a film with potential but didn’t quite live up to it. It had all the parts to be great, but the manufacturing didn’t match it, leading Supergirl to be a functional, run-of-the-mill superhero film.